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 Washington    — Media mogul Jimmy Lai's trial for "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" and "conspiracy to publish incitement" is set to drag on longer than the 80 days initially planned. As of Thursday, the 73rd day of the trial, only six of 14 scheduled witnesses had testified.    Lai, the 76-year-old founder of Hong Kong's Next Media and three companies owned by Apple Daily, which has been out of operation for nearly three years, was charged under the Hong Kong version of China’s national security law.   Lai and his newspaper supported Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy movement, which the controversial law has been used to crush.   If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life in prison. Lai, who is also a British citizen, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.    The trial, conducted by three judges designated under the national security law, began December 18, three years after Lai was arrested, and has been slower than expected.  During cross-examination by the defense this week, Chan Tsz-wah, who was charged along with Lai but is now a witness for the prosecution, admitted he gave false statements to officers during interviews with police in October 2020, saying he was trying to distance himself from Lai and his personal assistant.  Legal experts say the admission will make all sides view Chan’s testimony with caution, which could stretch out his questioning time.    "So generally speaking, even if the court listens to and accepts his testimony, how much weight it will give his words is another matter," Hong Kong lawyer Frankie Siu told VOA.  Siu noted the trial is also slow because it is in English, while witness testimony is in Cantonese and has to be interpreted.    Chung Kim Wah, former assistant professor in the Department of Applied Social Science at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, told VOA the prosecutor may also be trying to bolster the government’s charges through a lengthy trial.    "And through the statements of several accomplice witnesses, especially one or two of them, they hope to create the image that Jimmy Lai premeditated and colluded with the United States."  Rights groups and U.S. officials have condemned the trial as politically motivated.    In April, two U.S. lawmakers proposed a bill to rename the street and mailing address for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Hong Kong’s de facto embassy in Washington) to "Jimmy Lai Way" to honor the jailed media entrepreneur.  Lai’s case is the first in Hong Kong of "colluding with foreign forces" since Beijing enacted Hong Kong's national security law in 2020.  Beijing says the security law is needed to maintain stability, but has used it to arrest, jail and try hundreds of pro-democracy activists, stifling Hong Kong’s once vibrant civil society.  In March, Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously and quickly approved their own sweeping national security law known as Basic Law Article 23, strengthening the government's ability to silence dissent.  VOA’s Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.

CAIRO — A leading rights group said on Thursday that attacks by Sudanese paramilitary forces and their allied militias, which killed thousands in the western region of Darfur last year, constituted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the area's non-Arab population. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been fighting Sudan's military for over a year, allied with armed militias to carry out attacks against the ethnic Masalit and other non-Arab groups in El Geneina, the capital city of West Darfur state, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April 2023, when tensions between the military and the rival paramilitary erupted into open fighting. Clashes quickly spread to other parts of the country, and Darfur was engulfed in brutal attacks on African civilians, especially the Masalit tribe. According to the New York-based watchdog, the paramilitary forces and their allied militiamen targeted predominantly Masalit neighborhoods in El Geneina from April to June 2023, with attacks intensifying last November. At least thousands of people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were displaced during the attacks, according to the report, titled "The Massalit Will Not Come Home: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan." Masalit who were captured were tortured, women and girls were raped and entire neighborhoods were looted and destroyed, the report says. HRW said it interviewed more than 220 people who fled Darfur into neighboring countries and analyzed photos, videos and satellite imagery connected to the attacks. United Nations experts have estimated that at least 10,000 people were killed in the city of El Geneina in 2023. More than 570,000 people, mostly Masalit, were displaced and sought refuge in neighboring Chad. Human Rights Watch said the campaign of attacks on the non-Arab people in Darfur, including the Masalit, with the "apparent objective" of pushing them out, "constitutes ethnic cleansing." "Governments, the African Union, and the United Nations need to act now to protect civilians," Tirana Hassan, HRW's executive director, said Thursday. "The global inaction in the face of atrocities of this magnitude is inexcusable," Hassan said. "Government should ensure those responsible are held to account." The group called for the United Nations, African Union and states from the International Criminal Court to investigate whether the atrocities documented in the report reveal a specific intent by the RSF paramilitary and armed allies "to commit genocide" by destroying the Masalit and other non-Arab groups in West Darfur. The media office of the Rapid Support Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. In late January, the International Criminal Court's prosecutor, Karim Khan, said there are grounds to believe both the RSF and the Sudanese military may be committing war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur. Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias, against populations that identify as Central or East African. The Rapid Support Forces were formed from Janjaweed fighters by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

harare, zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's prosecutor general — the former head of the country’s anti-corruption commission — says corruption is costing the country nearly $2 billion annually, devastating the economy and ordinary citizens. It is the first time a senior Zimbabwean official has made such an accusation publicly. Revelations this week by Loice Matanda-Moyo that billions of dollars are leaving Zimbabwe through illicit deals have contradicted the narrative of other government officials. They have often blamed economic challenges on targeted sanctions over election-rigging and human rights abuses. At a training workshop for government officials in Harare Tuesday, Matanda-Moyo called for immediate action. She said corruption remains one of the barricades to resuscitating Zimbabwe’s economy and estimated the country is losing $1.8 billion a year due to corruption. “That is a huge sum of money, and you can imagine what $1.8 billion could do,” Matanda-Moyo said. “Such illicit financial flows are unacceptable and bleed the economy of revenue meant to promote sustainable economic development and the betterment of all Zimbabweans. It is time that we eradicate corruption in Zimbabwe and recover stolen assets.” No one from the government has responded to her accusations. Economist Gift Mugano said Zimbabwe’s annual revenue losses to corruption are too much, adding that even the World Bank has never allocated that much to Zimbabwe within a one-year period. Mugano said $1.8 billion is a low estimate. “Remember $1.8 billion is just illicit financial flows leaving the country,” Mugano said. “We also have a larger chunk of internal corruption which averages around $1 billion every year — which is reported by the auditor general every year. If you then add those two numbers, you are then moving close to $3 billion, which is currently half of our budget which we are wasting.” VOA reached out to Zimbabwe’s Anti-Corruption Commission with questions, but has received no response. John Maketo is program director at the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development, a non-profit organization that fights for socio-economic justice. He said a moribund economy, inadequate regulatory oversight and legislative loopholes create a breeding ground for corruption. “The fact that we have a whole anti-corruption commission is not enough,” he said. “The commission must be supported with strong and sound systems in terms of prosecution of corruption cases. “We also need to have other support systems, starting with political will at the highest level to the lowest level of political governance, even the judiciary system, being tough on passing deterrent sentences on people that are charged with corruption.” Maketo said it is frustrating to see criminal cases launched by the anti-corruption commission “going nowhere.” Citizens, he said, can only imagine how much their communities could benefit from stanching those losses. “There is a whole system that needs to be propped up to reduce leakages,” he said. “You want to picture how much $1.8 billion can do, in terms of improving education service delivery, improving remuneration to teachers — how many rural teacher houses can be built, how many rural district clinics can be built using $1.8 billion?” Since coming to power in 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to deal with corruption. Mnangagwa, however, has faced criticism for the government’s alleged system of arresting but then acquitting suspects with connections to the president. Some citizens say the system is known as catch and release. Paul Westwood was born in Zambia but made his home in Zimbabwe for a number of years before leaving the country. He has criticized the Zimbabwean government’s approach to corruption. “The issue I have with corruption is [it’s] not taken seriously,” he said. “It's so deep rooted. It's so hard to end the corruption because everybody's benefiting. The issue I have about corruption is nothing's going to get done internally until when?” Westwood said the current administration, as well as the previous government of the late President Robert Mugabe, ignored a businessman whom Westwood accused of corruptly taking over property Westwood owned. Westwood, who said he has British citizenship, left the country for the United Kingdom after that.

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WASHINGTON — The Somali government has asked the U.N. Security Council to terminate the U.N. political mission in Somalia that has been helping the war-torn African country since 2013.  News about a letter requesting the departure of the 360-member United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) when its mandate expires in October has been circulating through social media for about a day. The news also temporarily appeared on the website of the Somali National News Agency before the content was removed.  Government officials who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media confirmed the existence of the request to VOA.  Ahmed Isse Awad, Somalia's former foreign minister and former ambassador to the U.S., said the mission is still vital to Somalia and the decision to terminate is untimely.  “The U.N. political mission has advised and supported Somalia on governance, peacebuilding, security reforms and democracy for over a decade, and I think it is still vital for strengthening the capacity of the government institutions. I think it is not the time to terminate it,” he said.  The government’s request to end the mission comes at a time a U.N.-mandated African Union safekeeping mission, currently comprising at least 10,000 soldiers known as ATMIS, is due to withdraw and hand the country’s security over to the Somali state by the end of this year.  VOA’s calls to Somalia’s foreign and information ministries went unanswered.  According to the United Nations, UNSOM was established in 2013 by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2102 to advise the federal government of Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia on policy and peacebuilding.    The UNSOM mandate was subsequently renewed by Security Council resolutions more than 15 times. The current Resolution 2710, approved in 2023, expires in October. 

Athens — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has officially dedicated an ancient Byzantine church as a mosque, drawing a protest from Greece. Many Greeks want a summit scheduled for Monday in Ankara between Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to be canceled.  Greece’s criticism centers on the formal opening of the Church of St. Saviour in Chora as a Muslim house of worship, four years after it was converted. The ancient site was a museum before its conversion to a mosque and is a United Nations-protected monument revered for its mosaic masterpieces. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided remotely over the opening ceremony this past Monday from the presidential palace in Ankara. While the move to open the site as a mosque has won praise from the Muslim faithful in Turkey, it has angered many Greeks, among them Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. He said Erdogan’s decision is “unnecessary” and an insult. Speaking after talks Thursday with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Mitsotakis said if anything, the church’s conversion is an affront to, as he put it, the rich cultural history that Istanbul has to show for… at the crossroads of many civilizations. The Church of St. Saviour in Chora is the latest ancient church that Erdogan has converted since ordering Istanbul’s prized landmark, the Hagia Sophia, to be transformed in 2020 to a Muslim house of prayer.   Analysts view the conversions as part of an attempt by Erdogan to consolidate the conservative and religious support base of his ruling party amid an economic downturn gripping Turkey. The latest conversion has also drawn criticism from the United States, with the State Department calling on Turkey to preserve the monument’s diverse history and allow access to all visitors. In Athens, many political leaders are urging Mitsotakis to cancel a meeting he has scheduled with Erdogan for next week as part of a previously agreed plan to ease relations between the longtime foes.  Nikos Androulakis, the leader of Greece’s socialist party, is among those calling for the talks to be called off. “There is no way that I would go,” Androulakis said, adding, “This is a provocation.” The prospect of canceling the talks is a “no-go,” said Mitsotakis. “It is imperative to keep all channels of communication open,” said Mitsotakis. He went on to say, “It is much better that I face President Erdogan in person and express my strong opposition to this latest conversion, than allow this matter to spark another crisis between the two countries.”  Relations between Greece and Turkey have long been strained. The two neighbors and NATO members nearly went to war in 2020 over contested energy reserves in the Mediterranean. They have also been at odds over the divided island of Cyprus; it is split between a Turkish-Cypriot north and a Greek-Cypriot south. Since 1974, several efforts by the United Nations and the United States to reunite the island have failed. In recent remarks, Erdogan said all problems can be resolved between Greece and Turkey. In December, Erdogan made an official visit to Greece, where he met with Prime Minister Mitsotakis. They agreed on several measures to ease tensions.

In mid-April, the United States deployed a Tomahawk missile system to the Philippines, a move condemned by both Russia and China. The medium-range launcher can reach targets up to 1,600 kilometers away. Now, Russia says it plans to ramp up its production of similar missile systems.  Kateryna Besedina has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.

The U.S. has paused some arms shipments to Israel over a disagreement about military action in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Opponents of Prime Minister Netanyahu blame him for damaging the Israel/U.S. relationship, while allies of Netanyahu go so far as to claim Biden is helping Hamas. A look at graduation ceremonies at colleges that were the scenes of violent anti-Israel protests, Ukrainians and Russians living side-by-side in a Norwegian mining village, and a look at politics in South Korea and the push there to increase the birth rate. Plus, in Pakistan, it’s the anniversary of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan stormed military properties to protest his arrest.

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With the number of deaths nearing 240 and about 235,000 people displaced, Kenyans are mourning their lost ones and trying to rebuild after weeks of heavy rains that resulted in deadly floods and landslides. And it’s not over yet as more rains are expected through June. VOA Nairobi Bureau chief Mariama Diallo has this report. VOA footage by Amos Wangwa.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

MARSEILLE, France — Joyful crowds gathered along the streets of France's southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city's most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony.  It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country for the torch, which will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Games' opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.  Former soccer player Basile Boli, who played with the Marseille team in the 1990s, kicked off Thursday's relay from the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica that overlooks Marseille and the Mediterranean.  "I'm very proud," Boli said. "You feel like you're on top of the world, because with an Olympic flame there's a special fervor. ... It's the symbol of sport!"  Basketball player Tony Parker later took his turn in the relay, praising "a great honor." On a nearby crowded beach, swimmers and sunbathers cheered the torch bearers as the flame passed.  "The enthusiasm of Marseille for the flame is phenomenal," said Maurice Genevois, a local resident. "Honestly, I have rarely seen such a celebration."  Magali Evrard, who came from the town of Martigues, in Marseille's region, said "it's been so long since we started talking about this and now we're in it!  "We are on the road to Paris. We can't wait, it's great," she added.  A fencing champion, a skateboarder, a Michelin-starred chef and a comedian were also chosen to carry the flame on Thursday.  "Let's go for a fantastic celebration," said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Olympics organizing committee. "The Games are back in our country. ... Let's share this fantastic moment of celebration with millions of people in the country."  Participants were scheduled to run all day past landmarks in the city to bring the torch to the roof of the famed Stade Vélodrome, home to Marseille's passionate soccer fans.  Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said "it's fantastic to give that sense of pride to the French people and to show to the whole world what we're capable to achieve."  "'We're going to give happiness to the whole world," she added.  Torchbearers included Ukrainian gymnast Mariia Vysochanska, who won two gold medals at the 2020 European Championships and competed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.  Her inclusion was an expression of solidarity with Ukraine as well as a symbolic gesture to mark Europe Day, which falls on May 9 each year. Vysochanska led a group of 27 other athletes who represent all European Union member states.  "It's a way to really celebrate Europe, its values and also to demonstrate our attachment to the European sport model," Oudea-Castera said. Ukraine received the green light last year to start accelerated talks on joining the EU.  "(Ukrainians) face that terrible war of aggression, and we want to really express that we support them the best we can," she added. "This is unity. This is hope. This is solidarity. And we want their victory."  Marseille on Wednesday celebrated with great fanfare the flame's arrival, with more than 230,000 people attending the ceremony in the Old Port, according to the city's mayor, Benoit Payan.  During the Games, the sailing competition and some soccer matches will be held in Marseille. 

HONG KONG — A top public relations executive from Chinese technology firm Baidu apologized Thursday after she made comments in a series of videos that critics said glorified a culture of overwork.  Baidu's head of communications Qu Jing sparked a public outcry in China after she implied in the videos that she was not concerned about her employees as she was "not their mom" and said she only cared about results. She also said that the relationship between her and her subordinates was purely an "employer-employee relationship."  The backlash was swift, with many on social media platforms like Weibo criticizing Qu for her lack of empathy.  Qu posted an apology Thursday on her private WeChat account, where she "sincerely apologized to all netizens" and clarified that she had not sought Baidu's permission before posting the videos.  Qu said that her short videos did not represent Baidu's stance. Baidu operates China's dominant search engine as well as Ernie Bot, an artificial intelligence service similar to ChatGPT.  "Many of the criticisms are very pertinent, I am reflecting deeply and humbly accept them," she said. "There are many inappropriate (things said) in the video that caused external misunderstandings about the company's values and corporate culture, causing serious harm. I sincerely apologize."  Qu also pledged to improve her communication and management style and care more for her colleagues.  Baidu did not immediately comment.  Chinese online media outlet 36Kr reported Thursday that Qu had left her position at Baidu. The Associated Press was not able to independently verify Qu's departure.  The videos, which have since been taken down, came at a time when many young people in China are pushing back against a culture of competition and grueling hours in the workplace.  Qu received criticism for a range of subjects she mentioned in the series of short videos on Douyin.  In the series, she brought up an incident of certain employees who sent hundreds of complaint letters against her to the office, and threatened to ruin their careers by ensuring that they could never again find a job in the industry.  In one of the videos, she criticized an employee who refused to go on a 50-day business trip during the COVID-19 pandemic. China had implemented strict travel restrictions that at times included weeks of quarantine for travel even within the country.  "Why should I take into consideration my employee's family? I'm not her mother-in-law," Qu said, adding that if employees refused to go on such business trips then they would not get salary raises or job promotions.  Chinese technology firms have long been criticized for their long working hours.  A public debate was sparked in recent years over the "996" work culture, where employees in technology firms were expected to work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. The issue was also spotlighted after the deaths of two employees of Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo, one of whom collapsed suddenly on the street on her way home from work.  Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, also faced criticism in 2019 for endorsing the 12-hour workday culture, saying that those who enjoyed their work would not find the "996" practice to be a problem.

Miami, Florida — Former President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has been chosen to serve as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention, the state party chairman said Wednesday. Republican Party of Florida chairman Evan Power said the 18-year-old high school senior will serve as one of 41 at-large delegates from Florida to the national gathering, where the GOP is set to officially nominate his father as its presidential candidate for the November general election. NBC News first reported the choice of Barron Trump as a delegate. Barron Trump has been largely kept out of the public eye, but he turned 18 on March and is graduating from high school next week. The judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York said there would be no court on May 17 so that Trump could attend his son's graduation.  Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany, are also part of the Florida delegation to the convention taking place in Milwaukee from July 15 to July 18. "We are fortunate to have a great group of grassroots leaders, elected officials, and members of the Trump family working together as part of the Florida delegation to the 2024 Republican National Convention," Power said in an emailed statement.

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